Jed Hoyer flat out said what the Chicago Cubs are going after at the trade deadline.
Pitching is a must for the Cubs, especially with a bullpen unit that is still shaky and a starting rotation that has their two best pitchers on the shelf — one for the rest of the season and one who is still working his way back.
While it was interesting to hear Hoyer directly state their targets, it’s not overall surprising that these two position groups are what they are pursuing.
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Every contending team needs bullpen arms, and more starting depth is never a bad thing.
However, his statement does raise some expectations about who Chicago could land ahead of the deadline, especially because this team feels like a true World Series contender based on the potent offense they possess.
Naturally, fans will start circling some of the most notable names who have been rumored to be on the trade block when that time comes this summer. But Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic (subscription required) threw a bit of cold water on the notion that the Cubs are going to land some big fish.
“The Cubs have built a strong bullpen primarily by looking for value adds like Brad Keller, Chris Flexen and Drew Pomeranz. Continuing to add around the margins makes sense,” the insider wrote in reference to the reliever market.
That doesn’t exactly inspire confidence they will acquire a gamechanger, especially when thinking back to this past offseason when Chicago missed out on some elite arms based on their own self-imposed restraints.
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Perhaps that changes now that ownership has seen the ceiling of this current roster.
What about when it comes to starting pitchers?
Similarly, he tempered expectations.
“For those hoping the Cubs hit it big with an ace-type addition, it might be hard to find that pitcher. And if they do identify the right target, the prospect cost will certainly be high,” Sharma wrote.
The Cubs have been hesitant to ship out some of their best prospects, although they did deal Cam Smith this past winter as part of the Kyle Tucker package.
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Again, perhaps their ethos changes this year and they are more willing to trade some of their top guys.
Still, past history of Hoyer and this ownership group needs to be remembered, and based on what Sharma is suggesting, the likelihood of Chicago going out and acquiring some of the top names on the market seems slim.
